Reflections

My church small group consists of about half medical professionals. So we got to talking about supplements versus natural sources of vitamins and minerals. One conclusion was clear: the most effective way to fill up on Vitamin D is to get outside and get your sunshine. Just ten minutes in UV 7+ can make a huge difference– Dr. Will, correct me if I got that wrong ;)

So what, you may ask, does this have to do with simplicity? Well, this conversation about Vitamin D was bopping around in my head all week. At one point, I got to considering how it’s crucial for our health. Without it, depression rates skyrocket, immune systems suffer, and other good science-y things Dr. Will can tell you. However, when asked about whether UV rays penetrate windows, the answer was yes and the evidence given was that truckers often get skin cancer on their left arms. 

So. Vitamin D from UV rays is crucial for health. But the radiation from too much UV exposure kills. Too much of a good thing is no longer good. You see where I’m going?

My brain is on simplicity all Lent long. So in contemplating too much of a good thing, I immediately jumped to what a perfect picture that is for all of creation. God said creation is good. And yet, too much of a good thing– UV rays, clothing, work– not only diminishes its goodness but can even be bad for us. 

And this is an important clarification with simplicity. We don’t simplify because owning things or using technology or having a schedule is a bad thing. We simplify because we want to keep things in their proper place. All of these can become a distraction. Even more, they can all become idols. They can become the things we make sacrifices for– and what better picture of worship is there? 

God says, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them” (Exodus 20:3-5a). So we shake our heads at the silly Israelites making and bowing down to the golden calf. 

Then we turn around and sacrifice 
…our physical health and relationships to the god of busyness
…our financial independence via debt to the god of accumulation
…our sleep to the god of scrolling or gaming

In simplicity, we have a chance to reclaim these things as good by pushing them off the pedestal and back to their proper place. As such, our schedules allow us to love God and others, to bring His Kingdom, to enjoy His good gifts to us in the relationships around us. Our possessions can be accessories to hospitality, generosity, beauty, and gratitude. Our technology can be a tool we manipulate, rather than magic manipulating us. 

I want to keep going in this direction. Because if I’m honest, my life doesn’t look much different from anyone else’s. I want simplicity to be one of the means of grace by which God chips away at my envy and discontentment. I don’t want to look at other people’s lives and forget how well God has provided for me. Or to paraphrase Ocean & the Ghost, I don’t want the poverty of begging for what’s already been given. 

Practice

Simplifying food isn’t an immediately obvious application of simplicity. But God’s Kingdom touches every area of life, and we can find ourselves distracted by the world’s version at the expense of God’s true goodness. Be it the distraction of junk food instead of whole foods, frozen meals to enable our hectic schedule, or gluttony that leads us to revile fasting, we have lost touch with God’s provision in the world’s saccharine offerings. 

REFLECT on your relationship with food, using these questions:

1. Where is your attention during mealtimes? Does it differ between your meals?

2. How many steps, people, and processes are between you and the origins of your food? Said another way, what does it take for your food to get to your table?

3. When it comes to food, are there things that cause you shame, make you feel guilty, or prevent you from embracing the goodness of God’s gifts in food and flavors?

PRIORITIZE what is good and SUBTRACT what is unhelpful by considering these potential steps toward simplicity:

1. Simplify your attention during mealtimes. Don’t multitask. Pay attention to the meal and any people you’re sharing it with. 

2. Simplify your ingredients. Practice cooking with only whole foods. Don’t use anything that has an ingredient list. This might mean trying your hand at making bread! But this does not mean bland food. Instead, it may mean more flavorful food as you eat fresher vegetables, learn the best way to cook with spices, and discover that while you may not be fit for sourdough, your spouse is great at it. 

3. Embrace historic Christian fasting rhythms. Throughout Church history, it was common for followers of Jesus to fast twice per week, on Wednesday and Friday. If you’ve never fasted before, perhaps you start with lunch or just one of those days. But when you fast, as Jesus expected His followers to do, here are three tips:

• Replace your meal with quality time with God (try A.C.T.S. prayer or a guided prayer app like Lectio 365); don’t just work through lunch!
• When a hunger pang hits, repeat a breath prayer like [inhale: “Jesus, Bread of Life,” exhale: “help me hunger for you”]
• Don’t publicize it to the world, but do it with community! Jesus promotes the discipline of secrecy but not isolation. 

Your Turn

What do you want to try? Where are you already feeling defensiveness or shame? Invite the Holy Spirit into the process to bring clarity, healing, and simple joys through His provision.